In 2007, some otaku decided that the commercialization of Akihabara was too much for their delusional minds. Instead of rolling over and secluding themselves even further, they decided it was time to fight back. Calling themselves the Akiba Liberation Front, they set out to commit terrorist acts in the name of Akihabara. Starting by killing some people they did not like. Should they have succeeded, Comiket would have been shut down indefinitely. And everything related to Akihabara would have been wiped out. Otaku maid cafés, everything. Fortunately, they did not succeed.

Their actions proves once again just how dangerous a delusional mind is. (I may be targeted by Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups just for saying that sentence. Then again some of us are more than happy to be rid of me.)

2. Public Perception

Apart from June 30 2007, there have been other detrimental events that has led to the revealation of how depraved and soulless being an otaku really is.

We’re all familiar with the axe murders of 2007. You know, about the string of murders involving axes and the canning of 2 shows for a bit?

And of course there’s Tsuyotomu Miyazaki, the notorious murder who wanked to loli porn.

Add to that the first shows in America were mecha shows and porn, and that’s a recipe for mainstream rejection.

3. Otaku are the result of a culture that was fundamentally messed up to begin with

Being an otaku is nothing to be proud of. It means that you are the result of a society that forces itself to look good on the outside while forgetting about the inside. It also means you’ve already lost hope in society (which has never been good to begin with) and with life in itself. Full of disillusionment and self-pity they turn to any form of escapism and use it LIKE A DRUG.

And to actually understand why otaku are so horribly messed-up to begin with, we have to look at Japan’s history and the Japanese in general.

Throughout Japan’s past, they have always adopted what looked good on the outside, without taking note of the far-reaching effects. They accepted Chinese influence in the 2nd century AD/CE, but dropped it like a hot potato after the T’ang Dynasty fell. They did the same for western influence and shut themselves off to the world until Commodore Perry came along in 1853. (I believe the westen powers had to flatten two port towns before they accepted.) And again in 1945 (Fat Man and Little Boy). (Note: I’m probably misintepreting things and stuff. I’m still unskilled in this kind of thing.)

And the Japanese themselves? We’ll just mention the behavior of WW2 Japan and leave it at that. If they weren’t patriotic savages hellbent on conquering the whole of Asia for their purposes, they were spineless sacks of flesh who did nothing to oppose such nationalism. Forever obsessed with the outside they neglected to look at either what would happen or disregarded their conscience.

Like this:

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As deep as your words are, they will never sink into the minds of the people in my post. To them being an otaku is a symbol of pride that everyone around should be aware of. It’s kinda like if the Scarlet Letter was actually a symbol of “I can get laid with any man I want baby” rather than the symbol of a whore.

I think some of these people are proud because they believe they’re free from certain constraints put on people by society in general. In other words, they do what they want to do, and they don’t care what others think. In their minds, these are admirable traits, and that is why they’re proud of who they are or what they do.

nckl: You’re looking in the wrong direction. These people do not have the benefit (or the common sense) to do a simple google search on the search term “why otaku suck”. Trust me, once they do that, there’s a fair chance that most of them will drop the habit. and for those that still do well whoever’s making them psychoreactive medicines are going to make a fortune, or the weapons manufacturers. Depends on your mindset.

You want to see real freedom, you go find a Christian missionary or a church that supports Christian missionaries. They’re the real deal when it comes to being truly free. Most of them work in places no sane man dreams of working in, in conditions that usually break most people, and they have to be sensitive to other cultures. not many of us would even dream of working in such conditions. Yes i apologize for the sycophantic advocating of Christians here.

Ty; Sounds like you’d advocate a nuclear device going off in Akiba. Or Japan. Do realize that they are the result of a problem that lies pretty close to the Japanese psyche, which is about as old as Japan itself. Which can also be said to be as old as humanity itself. Turning Japan into so much irradiated rock, unfortunately, would only make the situation worse, and would still not address the real problem. and do keep in mind you’re only angry because you’re not getting any uncensored animated porn 😛

@Tylenol – What!? You mean being unemployed, living in your parents basement, and mooching off your parents to pay for Japanese cartoon and comic addictions isn’t the American dream? This isn’t the America I used to know! 😉

@drmchsr0 – Hrm, perhaps I was a little too broad in what I said. In order to answer your question about what are these people proud of, I was trying to come from the viewpoint of a particular group of incredibly disillusioned people. When I said they think they’re “free” from certain constraints, what I meant was that they believe they’re free from what society expects of them since they don’t care what society thinks anyway. But are they completely “free?” Absolutely not! Ironically, they’re bound by their own fears and insecurities, but they try to at least put up some sort of tough front to salvage any sort of self-respect they may have left.

Also, I’m pretty sure there are some out there who KNOW they suck, but feel as though they suck so bad they can’t drop the habit. Those are the most unfortunate ones!

Boy do I generalize and talk out of my ass a lot. It sure is fun, though. 😀

I’m a supporter of legalized public nudity and the outlawing of meat eating, so I want to see mainstream society destroyed and it’s values eroded.

That’s what first attracted me to otaku culture. Well, along with all the lolicon porn.

I am proud of being an otaku, but I sure as hell don’t want it to be mainstream. When things become mainstream they have to be cleaned up and sanitized for the public and the soccer moms and all that shit. On 4chan’s /jp/ the mods delete U15 model threads. That’s the perilous influence of mainstreaming.

Using the semiotic of Japan, it is indeed a bad thing. I never thought about that when I named my blog animeotaku. I simply thought of the Western definition: being an otaku is being dedicated to your avocation.

I’m supposed to be a biology major, but I love reading and dissecting literature. I also love anime, though it has weakened a bit since my beginning forays into it. However, I’m proud that I dedicate myself to my avocation. What’s so wrong with doing that, anyway?

I don’t condone the otaku culture of Japan. It’s a horrible way to live. Staying at home and simply watching anime is not what I desire to cull out of life. But I am fond of anime, and I love being an otaku in the Western sense.

i would say it’s a case of majority and minority. I sense no difference with us liking animes and whatnot as compared to people chasing after asian dramas, boybands, etc.. Just because majority of society does that, they think it’s trend, cool… And society as a whole, are mostly trend followers.

Do not also forget that although anime isn’t going to be mainstream, it’s still a stream that leads to the sea ^_^ (the sea being society)